DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Jan Fischer, Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good Afternoon.  Thank you so much for coming.  You are here in large numbers today.  I hope this is an indication for our guests and your interest for the things they will be discussing.  Jan and I will try to run through the briefing fairly quickly.  We have a guest for the briefing, and following the briefing we have Mr. Oshima at 12.30 p.m.  So let’s see if we can do everything according to schedule.   

** IAEA/GUEST

And as I mentioned, the guest today is Gustavo Zlauvinen, the head of the New York office of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who will talk to you about nuclear terrorism.

Nuclear terrorism will be the subject of a special session of the IAEA, to be held in Vienna tomorrow.  Today, the Agency’s Director-General, Mohammed El-Baradei, warned that, following 11 September, the world must join together to take responsibility for the security of nuclear material.

We have a press release from the IAEA with more information, but I am sure Mr. Zlauvinen will be giving you a lot more as he answers your questions. 

** Secretary-General opens ILO Employment Conference

The Secretary-General this morning opened the International Labour Organization’s “Global Employment Forum”, called to address the policy challenges posed by the projection that a half billion more workers will be added to the labor forces of the developing countries over the coming decade.

The Secretary-General said that the 11 September attacks on the United States have had an impact not only on global security, but also on the global economy, and poor economies will pay the highest price.  As a result of the attacks, he said, “we know millions of people will become more vulnerable to poverty than before”.  The ILO estimates that 24 million more people, most from the developing world, will become unemployed as a result of the current crisis.

The Secretary-General made a special appeal for employment of youth, which he called “our most valuable asset”, and for women, “the largest sector of unemployed, under-employed and underpaid people in the world”.

Copies of the Secretary-General’s speeches are available in the Spokesman’s office as well as on our Web site.

The Secretary-General had a number of bilateral meetings today, starting with a working breakfast with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, in which they discussed the Middle East and Afghanistan, among other topics. 

The Secretary-General held a press conference at noon, and we’ll have the transcript of that press conference available upstairs shortly.  He told reporters that “the struggle against terrorism can only be won if there is broad and sustained international cooperation”, and added that the actions of the Security Council and the General Assembly provided a solid basis for such cooperation.

After the press conference, the Secretary-General had a lunch with ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and other participants from the Forum. 

In the afternoon, he met with his Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein; he then saw Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva; and he also met with Carlo Lamprecht, the President of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

Following that he conferred with his principle advisers on Afghanistan in New York via video-conference.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General is expected to meet with UN staff in Geneva before returning to New York over the weekend.

** Afghanistan

Now news on Afghanistan.  Both the Secretary-General, who is in Geneva, and his Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi in Islamabad flagged the urgency of getting sufficient humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan as winter approaches.  Kenzo Oshima, as I mentioned to you before, the UN’s top humanitarian official, will be here at 12:30 p.m.  He is already here, but his press conference will be at 12.30 p.m.  We will do my portion of the briefing, Jan’s portion of the briefing, the guest of the noon briefing and then the piece de resistance, Mr. Oshima who will be briefing you and as you know who just returned from the region.

Mr. Brahimi, the Special Representative for Afghanistan, who has been meeting with Pakistani, Afghan and diplomatic representatives in Islamabad since Monday, continued his extensive consultations with Afghan groups and individuals.

Mr. Brahimi had a second day of meetings with Afghan women representatives to hear their views on their country’s future.  He met today with representatives of RAWA (Revolutionary Association for the Women of Afghanistan).

He also met with Afghans from inside Afghanistan.  One of the people had travelled two days to reach Islamabad and speak to Mr. Brahimi.

The Special Representative also met with all the heads of the UN humanitarian agencies operating inside Afghanistan, and had a separate meeting with the staff of the UN Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA).

At a press conference, he said the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is the UN’s priority and highlighted the efforts being made against terrible odds and also against time, as winter is drawing very near.

The Secretary-General, who I mentioned earlier is in Geneva, also had a press conference and fielded many questions which focused on Afghanistan. Regarding the air strikes, the Secretary-General clarified his position, saying that “for us, what I would want to see is an end to the military operations as quickly as possible so that we can get on with our work”.  He added, “And I suspect those undertaking the operation should also want to see that because we need to be able to step up our humanitarian operation and help the people.”

On the humanitarian efforts, the Secretary-General also noted that the ability to get in aid to the Afghans was due to the courage of the national staff and the truck drivers prepared to take risks, but that the targets were not being met.  “We need about 50,000 to 60,000 tons a month and we are doing about half of that,” he said.

Meanwhile Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) in his address to the 55-nation Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), today called on the representatives of the OSCE States to join in a common effort to prevent the opium poppy cultivation and heroin production in the country.

"A reduction in the availability of illicit drugs will address an important threat to human security in the region and in Europe,” Arlacchi said, adding that it would also affect the financial base of terrorism and organized crime.

** Burundi

Moving to more positive news, this morning in Bujumbura, during the ceremonies marking the inauguration of the Burundi’s transitional government, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Bernahu Dinka, delivered a message on the Secretary-General’s behalf.

In his remarks, he said “today is a defining moment in the history of Burundi and its long suffering people”.

The Secretary-General added that the UN had supported the peace process since its inception under the guidance of the late president of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

The choice made by Burundi’s political class to pursue the path of peace through a negotiated settlement was the right one and it merits and deserves the support of the goodwill people everywhere, the Secretary-General went on to say.

He described the transitional government as a significant step forward. “All of us”, he said, “are hopeful that this will usher a new era in which the country’s governance is informed by Africa’s traditional values of tolerance and solidarity, and based on a constitutional framework that will accommodate diversity, engender mutual trust and guarantee durable peace with justice and security for all.”

The Secretary-General concluded by saying that alleviating the plight of the Burundian people and moving the country towards reconstruction and development must now be the priority, towards which he reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations.

The ceremony held today in Bujumbura was also attended by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who took over the role of facilitator for the peace process following that of President Nyerere.  President Mandela, as you know, worked very hard in this process.

** Security Council

Here in New York there are no meetings of the Security Council scheduled today.

As today is the first day of Jamaica’s presidency of the Council, Ambassador Patricia Durrant will be holding bilateral consultations on the programme of work for the month of November.

For the record, following a public meeting held all day yesterday on the situation in East Timor, Council members adopted early evening a presidential statement in which among other aspects they endorsed the recommendation of the territory’s constituent assembly that independence be declared on May 20th of next year.

** Cyprus

The Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, will leave New York today, 1 November, to travel to Cyprus, Turkey and Greece for consultations in furtherance of the Secretary-General's mission of good offices. 

Mr. de Soto will be meeting separately with His Excellency Glafcos Clerides and His Excellency Rauf Denktash in Nicosia on Friday, 2 November.

He will also hold consultations with Turkish Government officials in Ankara on Monday, 5 November, and with Greek Government officials in Athens on Tuesday, 6 November.

He is expected to return to New York next Wednesday.

** Human trafficking

Human trafficking is the fastest growing form of Organized crime, said Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the UN Drug Control and Crime Prevention Programme, in Vienna today.

He outlined that trafficking in human beings was the fastest growing form of organized crime.  "There are reports”, he added in a speech delivered to the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), “that drug traffickers are switching to human cargo to obtain greater profit with less risk".

The full text of his remarks is available upstairs.  Of course, that is where you will also find his reference to Afghanistan that I mentioned earlier.

** Press Releases

On press releases, the World Health Organization is calling on lawmakers around the world to take action against the advertising of tobacco and tobacco products.  WHO Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, said “Three years ago when we started the process of negotiating the Framework Convention … I said tobacco addiction is a communicated disease –- communicated through advertising, promotion and sponsorship”.  Tobacco companies have embarked on a massive global campaign to woo governments away from negotiating strong agreements against the advertising and promotion of their products.

There is a press release with more information upstairs.

** Panel Discussion

UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, will hold a panel discussion, “Women’s voices to rebuild Afghanistan” this afternoon in Conference Room 6 beginning at 1:30 p.m.  The panelists, who represent Afghan women working for the promotion and protection of human rights in their country, will address the central role women can play in the future of Afghanistan.  Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Director of UNIFEM, will open that panel. 

** World Chronicle

An announcement from the World Chronicle producers, today there will be a programme with Peter Piot, the Executive Director of UNAIDS.  It will be shown at 3.30 p.m. on in-house channels 3 or 31.

** Press conference

Of course, as I already announced earlier, following the briefing, Mr. Oshima will be joining us up here.  Tomorrow the guest at the noon briefing will be Giandomenico Picco, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.  He will be here to brief you on the plenary meetings that will take place on 8 and 9 November about the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

This is all I have, any questions before we move on to Jan?

** Questions and answers

Question:  I have a question on Cyprus, is de Soto taking any new ideas or proposals with him. 

Deputy Spokesman:  You know that I would not be in a position to discuss that in a briefing.   Mr. De Soto is very cautious about his diplomatic role and his contacts with both His Excellency Glafcos Clerides and His Excellency Rauf Denktash.  I will not be in a position to give you more than I gave you. 

Question:  The head of the UN peacekeeping operation in India and Pakistan seems to have made a rather strange statement, I quote:  “all of us  are aware of the situation in Kashmir and the games both parties are playing with this tormented country”.  What is the UN position on this statement and could you clarify his name for me.  He seems to be named rather appropriately Mr. Lloyd Dolt.

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes we also saw his statement to the press and what I have to say is that chiefs of mission in the field are required to discuss with Headquarters and get clearance from Headquarters when they are going to make political statements.  The chief military observer [this is his title], Major General Loidolt, did not comply with that in this case and he has been reminded of the limits of his responsibilities.  I should also make it very clear that what he said does not represent the views of the Secretary-General.

Question:  Do you know if there are any women included in the new cabinet in Burundi?

Deputy Spokesman:  We have a list upstairs with the members of the Cabinet.  My note does not specify that but I know that we have a list with the names upstairs so maybe that will give you a better indication.  What I can tell is that 12 ministers plus the President are Tutsis and 14 other ministerial posts plus the Vice-President are Hutus.  In 18 months from now there will be a switch between the President and the Vice-President.

Any other questions before we go to Jan?

Question: Can I just ask on the thing about drugs in Afghanistan?  I saw a report that said that the reduction in opium production in Afghanistan was related to the Taliban desire to drive prices up.  It seems there has been a glut on the morphine supply and that the reduction was essentially a market move.  Taliban leaders had huge masses of stocks and wanted to keep the prices up.

Deputy Spokesman:  I would not be able to interpret for you what motivated the Taliban to have the edict which they did have, which indeed significantly reduced production of opium poppies in Afghanistan.  I would have to refer you to Mr. Arlacchi's office, to the Vienna Drug Control Office.  We did put out a week or so ago the survey report on opium poppy in Afghanistan.  If you don't have it I will give you a copy afterwards. 

Thank you, Jan?

Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly

Good afternoon.

In the General Assembly, the discussion on reform of the Security Council continued this morning and we heard the last speaker on this item at 11.30.

The next plenary is scheduled for Monday when the Assembly will take up agenda item 39, Towards global partnerships, and item 171, Observance of the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. This is a new item this year.  In the afternoon of Monday, the Assembly will deal with item 22, Final review and appraisal of the Implementation of the UN’s New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s.  Wednesday, there will be the election of members of the International Law Commission, Thursday and Friday are devoted to Dialogue among Civilizations and then on Saturday the General Debate will begin.

There is actually a fresh schedule of plenary meetings out on the racks. It covers the period until 11 December.  It is document A/INF/56/3/Add.1.  I have some copies here, which I will place near the door.  That is what I have.

** Questions and Answers

Question:  Is there going to be a security briefing for the plenary session in terms of for us what we the press need to deal with?

Answer:  That is something I will check for you.  I have actually been trying to get in touch with security since yesterday.  I will clarify that for you and let you know if and when it happens. 

Thank you very much.

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